In re Gaulden

522 B.R. 580, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 4751, 2014 WL 5823277
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedNovember 10, 2014
DocketNo. GL 14-00712-jtg
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 522 B.R. 580 (In re Gaulden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Gaulden, 522 B.R. 580, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 4751, 2014 WL 5823277 (Mich. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION REGARDING MOTION TO DISMISS CASE PURSUANT TO 11 U.S.C. § 707(a)

JOHN T. GREGG, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter comes before the court in connection with a motion of the Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System (the “Retirement System”) to dismiss the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case of Booker T. Gaulden (the “Debtor”) pursuant to section 707(a) of the Bankruptcy Code [Dkt. No. 20] (the “Motion”). For the reasons set forth below, the court shall grant the Motion.

JURISDICTION

The court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1334(a) and 157(a). This is a core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A).

BACKGROUND1

A. The Overpayment Dispute

Prior to the Petition Date (as defined below) and after retiring in 2011, the Debt- or began receiving retirement pension and healthcare benefits from the Retirement System. (Debtor’s Ex. 4.) During a pre-petition audit of the Debtor’s account, the Retirement System discovered that the Debtor had not been eligible for retiree health insurance premiums for the months of August 2011 through December 2012 in the aggregate amount of $14,077.02. (Debtor’s Ex. 2.) At some point in January 2013, the Retirement System apparently informed the Debtor of this alleged “overpayment.” 2 (Debtor’s Ex. 4.)

[582]*582The Debtor disputed that any overpayment had occurred, and instead contended that he was eligible for the health insurance premiums as previously paid by the Retirement System. (Debtor’s Ex. 3-6.) From March 2013 through September 2013, the Debtor sent a series of letters to the Retirement System requesting that the Retirement System (i) restore the Debtor’s insurance subsidy, which apparently had either been suspended or terminated as of December 28, 2012, and (ii) schedule an administrative hearing to adjudicate the dispute.3 (Debtor’s Ex. 3-7.)

The letters are somewhat inconsistent from a temporal perspective. For example, the Debtor sent a two sentence letter dated June 18, 2013 to an unidentified party stating only the following: “Enclosed is my petition for hearing for restoration of health insurance subsidy. I await your reply.” (Debtor’s Ex. 6.) The letter encloses a “petition,” which is also dated June 18, 2013. The petition cites to various “letters” (plural) presumably sent by the Retirement System. All such letters from the Retirement System are, according to the petition, dated August 12, 2013. However, again, the letter enclosing the petition and the petition itself are both dated June 18, 2013, thereby making the chronology of events as set forth in the Debtor’s petition factually impossible.4

The court’s concern is compounded by the fact that on August 12, 2013, the Retirement System actually did send the Debtor an unsigned notice which (i) informed the Debtor of the alleged deficiency or, as the Retirement System refers to it, the overpayment, (ii) terminated any payment of future health insurance premiums, and (iii) sought to recoup the overpayment under Mich. Comp. Laws § 38.1345. (Debtor’s Ex. 2.) The'notice enclosed a “Repayment Options Form” also dated August 12, 2013.

On November 11, 2013, the Retirement System sent the Debtor a letter advising him that his medical coverage was being terminated as of December 1, 2013 because of his “report of other insurance coverage on the annual Verification of Coverage campaign.”5 (Debtor’s Ex. 8.) According to the Retirement System, the Retirement System’s policy prohibits Medicare eligible enrollees from being enrolled in other medical coverage while being enrolled in the Retirement System’s medical plan.

An administrative hearing to consider the overpayment and the Debtor’s eligibility for continuing benefits was allegedly scheduled to occur sometime after February 10, 2014. (Motion at p. 6; Evid. Hrg. Tr. at p. 21.) However, the actual date scheduled for the hearing is unclear to the court based on the record. Regardless, it [583]*583is dear that the administrative hearing never occurred.

B. Bankruptcy Petition, Schedules and Related Documents

On February 10, 2014 (the “Petition Date”) and before the administrative hearing, the Debtor filed a voluntary petition for relief [Dkt. No. 1] under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code.6 Scott Chernich was duly appointed as the Chapter 7 trustee (the “Trustee”) for the Debtor’s estate [Dkt. No. 4], Concurrently with the filing of his bankruptcy petition, the Debtor filed his Schedules, Statement of Financial Affairs, and other related documents [Dkt. No. I].7 Approximately one month after the Petition Date, the Debtor filed amendments to Schedule B and the Statement of Financial Affairs, as well as an amended Statistical Summary of Certain Liabilities [Dkt. Nos. 14-15]. Both the initial and amended documents were signed under the penalty of perjury.

According to Schedule B (as amended); the Debtor owned very little property as of the Petition Date. Specifically, the Debtor only owned wearing apparel, a watch, a ring and a lawn mower. All other personal property (e.g., a 2009 Toyota Prius, a 2009 Subaru, a bed, furniture, books, pictures, appliances, and a television) was owned by the Debtor’s non-filing spouse. Similarly, the Debtor’s non-filing spouse owned the Debtor’s residence in Lansing, Michigan free and clear of any mortgage or other encumbrance. (341 Tr. at p. 10.) Nothing in the record indicates that the Debtor ever had an interest in such property, and a review of the schedules filed by the Debtor in connection with his 2005 bankruptcy corroborates this disclosure.8

The Debtor’s Schedules in this case reveal that the Debtor had very few creditors as of the Petition Date. Schedule F reveals that as of the Petition Date, the Debtor was allegedly liable for the following general unsecured debts:

_Creditor_Amount Owned

Aspire_$0.00_

Blue Cross-Blue Shield_:_:_$15,000.00

Capital 1 Bank_$0.00_

Chase_$0.00_

Continental Services Group, Inc._$2,000.00_

Credit One Bank_$31.00_

DSNB Macys_$81.00_

Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC9 $8,000.00

[584]*584GECRB/MERVYNS_$0.00

HFC/Beneficial Mtg. Services_$0.00

Michigan Public School Employees Retirement_$15,000.00

Office of Retirement Services_$15,000.00

State of Michigan — Dept, of Management & In Care of Office of $15,000.00

Retirement Services_

Target Credit Card (TC)_$0.00

White Schneider Young Chiodini, P.C._$7,500.00

WM Finance_Unknown

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
522 B.R. 580, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 4751, 2014 WL 5823277, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-gaulden-miwb-2014.